|| 13.1 ||

अर्जुन उवाच प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च। एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव।।

Arjuna uvāca prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetra-jñam eva ca etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava

arjunaḥ uvāca (Arjuna said) prakṛtim (nature) puruṣam (the enjoyer) ca (also) eva (certainly) kṣetram (the field) kṣetra-jñam (the knower of the field) eva (certainly) ca (and) etat (all this) veditum (to know) icchāmi (I wish) jñānam (knowledge) jñeyam (the object of knowledge) ca (and) keśava (O Kṛṣṇa).

Arjuna said: O my dear Kṛṣṇa, I wish to know about prakṛti [nature], puruṣa [the enjoyer], and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the object of knowledge.

Arjuna opens the thirteenth chapter with a technical inquiry. He seeks to understand the relationship between the physical world and the conscious observer. He asks Kṛṣṇa to define six terms: nature, the enjoyer, the field, the knower of the field, knowledge, and the object of knowledge. After witnessing the terrifying majesty of the Universal Form, Arjuna returns to a philosophical framework. He wants to know the mechanics of how the soul interacts with the body. This chapter serves as a detailed study of consciousness and its material container. By addressing Kṛṣṇa as ‘Keśava’, Arjuna acknowledges Him as the master of the senses who can clarify these complex spiritual concepts. This sets the stage for a deep analysis of the difference between the ‘Hardware’ of the body and the ‘Software’ of the soul.
Next